Douluo: In an extraordinary world, with unparallel understanding!

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"Senior Brother, I heard from the Hall Master that you've made progress recently. Did you have another breakthrough a few days ago?"

Su Yu expressed his surprise at his good fortune.

Despite having spent several days at the research institute, he was still able to receive an unexpected surprise.

"Oh, the Hall Master mentioned that we discovered and categorized the most basic bone pattern elements through the analysis of your soul bone. I've been researching with Old Yuan and the others, planning to construct a basic elemental system within the bone patterns."

Listening to Xuan Ziwen's explanation, Su Yu roughly understood their achievement.

Unlike the core magic circle and runes, bone patterns are the skeletal markings found within soul bones.

The study of bone patterns is intended to refine the bones and strengthen the physical body of soul masters.

The goal is to reach a point where one could possess similar attributes even without absorbing a soul bone.

Thus, the energy flow patterns involved in bone patterns must differ from those of standard runes.

They can be seen as a more organized system within runes.

The condensation of soul bones is naturally formed based on the type of soul beast and the soul skills it possesses.

These markings are naturally generated as well.

In a sense, they represent the most natural evolution of a soul beast's abilities and its soul skills.

Xuan Ziwen deconstructed this evolved pattern and summarized the basic elements within it.

A single soul bone cannot encapsulate all the fundamental elements, but there is no doubt that they have made preliminary achievements.

They have also applied for funding from the Hall Master, Jing Hongchen, to continue their research on other soul bones.

As for the latest research findings by Xuan Ziwen, these are part of his personal project.

Old Yuan and other researchers from the soul bone and soul engineer fields have not participated, and the entire bone-refining and soul-nourishing project is solely conducted by Xuan Ziwen.

"By refining the bones and improving the physical constitution, we can maximize the feedback to spiritual power!"

Su Yu's eyes shone brightly.

Did this project achieve a major breakthrough?

Xuan Ziwen, full of enthusiasm, explained his general research ideas to Su Yu before handing him the results.

"This is a technique I've developed. It maximizes the feedback to spiritual power while strengthening the body."

After leaving Xuan Ziwen's lab, Su Yu was satisfied.

The first achievement indicated that bone pattern research was about to enter a phase of rapid development.

The second achievement, however, provided immense help to Su Yu's current situation.

He handed over the exquisite millennium soul bones he had acquired from the Extreme North to Xuan Ziwen.

This also marked his second batch of soul bones for investment.

Upon receiving these soul bones, Old Yuan and the others could hardly contain their excitement.

Three exquisite ice-type soul bones, not only well-preserved but also containing top-tier soul skills.

Not even Old Yuan and the others could hide their curiosity about how Su Yu obtained these soul bones.

Su Yu did not answer.

After all, he couldn't tell them that these were the rewards for helping the Snow Empress train, could he?

This time, upon returning to Sun-Moon, Su Yu planned to first craft his high-level battle armor.

He had already reached the Soul Saint rank, and while the middle-grade battle armor was the most suitable for his level, theoretically, he was now capable of using high-level battle armor.

Moreover, the spiritual energy within the metals for his armor had already been nurtured to a level sufficient to inscribe high-level battle armor runes.

Before going on his travels, Su Yu had already reached level eight as a soul engineer, and over the past six months, he had basically completed the design for the core magic circle of his high-level battle armor.

Upon returning to Sun-Moon, he—

"Mm?"

Su Yu realized he had no money.

Since arriving in the Sun Moon Empire, after living on the initial 1,000 Gold Soul Coins from his investment in Qian Tong, Su Yu hadn't had to worry about money or thought about making it.

But now, as he was about to craft his high-level battle armor, he realized that his funds were insufficient.

Although he would be using his current battle armor as a prototype, Su Yu still needed to add new rare metals and refine them into a higher-grade alloy to meet the various requirements.

What should he do without money?

Find the teacher.

Just as Su Yu was about to act, Elder Ma approached him.

"Su Yu, the Hall Master is looking for you."

"Okay."

Jing Hongchen was looking for him? What could it be?

With a feeling of curiosity, Su Yu headed to Jing Hongchen's office.

"Xiao Yu, I remember you mentioned last time that you need soul bones, right?"

Su Yu nodded.

Before leaving Sun-Moon, he had discussed with Jing Hongchen that the research on bone patterns would require soul bones for support. If Shrek sent people to redeem Qian Duoduo and the others, they could use soul bones as part of the exchange.

"What's going on, Hall Master? Is Qian Duoduo still at our Sun-Moon Hall?"

Su Yu was surprised.

It had been quite some time. Qian Duoduo had probably been locked up at Sun-Moon Hall for over a year, and only now did they think about the head of the Soul Engineer Department?

"Did you call me here for something?"

Su Yu still didn't quite understand why Jing Hongchen had summoned him.

"Oh, it's nothing really. I just wanted to confirm whether you still need soul bones. Shrek's people are coming this afternoon to discuss the terms for redeeming Qian Duoduo and Fan Yu," Jing Hongchen said.

From Jing Hongchen's tone, Su Yu could also sense a hint of sarcasm.

It seemed that their conditions were about to change, yet Shrek had only now remembered they wanted to redeem the Soul Engineer Department's head.

They give you opportunities when they need something; once they don't need you, who cares about you?

That's just how Shrek was—so sluggish.

"What's Shrek been doing for the past year?" Su Yu furrowed his brows and asked.

For more than a year, they hadn't even cared about their own department head. Was this really reasonable?

Su Yu suspected that Shrek had probably been undergoing some transformation during this time.

"Oh, I know a bit about this. It seems like Shrek has started focusing on developing soul-guided technology.

And they're offering quite a bit of support.

Too bad, with their half-baked technology, the two best soul engineers and the most talented ones are locked up here with us. How are they supposed to develop anything?"

Jing Hongchen sneered.

"Oh?"

Shrek had started developing soul-guided devices?

"Probably because Mu En guy died, and they received an order to heavily invest in soul-guided devices.

I bet Xuanzi also saw the power of soul-guided devices, so they've been pushing this policy ever since."

Jing Hongchen speculated that after Mu En was killed by a soul-guided device, Shrek finally came to their senses.

"Now they're trying to develop this? It's too late."

They were still missing two key figures from the Soul Engineer Department.

"By the way, I'm planning to demand thirty soul bones that are over ten thousand years old. What do you think?"

Hearing Jing Hongchen's demand, Su Yu took a sharp breath.

What the hell? I only mentioned it casually before, but you're actually serious about it?

Soul bones over ten thousand years old are extremely valuable—most Soul Emperors on the continent don't even have a single one.

And now, Jing Hongchen was asking for thirty of them!

"Hall Master, you can decide," Su Yu said.

"Mm, I think that now, after remembering Qian Duoduo, it's clear that the two of them are still quite useful," Jing Hongchen said, deciding to go with that condition.

If it didn't work, then they would just continue dragging things out.

After all, it was Shrek who was in a hurry.

Developing soul-guided devices without having a single powerful soul engineer? Who would even bother learning it?

Shrek's students are all exceptionally talented and should have good comprehension skills, but they all share one common trait.

Especially under Shrek's educational model, they are all incredibly arrogant.

Anyone who doesn't dare to stir up trouble is considered mediocre.

Imagine this: the academy encourages students to learn about soul-guided devices, but they don't have any masters in the field of soul engineering themselves. What will the students do?

It's a miracle if they don't revolt.

"You want me to learn?"

Ha, no thanks.

Without an outstanding teacher, it's almost impossible to make significant progress in soul-guided technology.

When Huo Yuhao became Fan Yu's disciple, he didn't learn much.

What Fan Yu could do was explain the basics of soul-guiding theory and pass on the core magic circles for soul-guided devices.

He had the skills, and he certainly had insights.

After all, Fan Yu was an eighth-level soul engineer, so he must have accumulated some personal understanding through his own process of exploring soul-guided devices.

But how could the experience of one person compare to the centuries of accumulated knowledge in Sun-Moon Hall?

In fact, a single person's experience may even have numerous gaps and flaws.

"There's one more thing. The emperor's health is deteriorating rapidly, and he could pass away at any moment. You need to be extra cautious during this time."

To put it bluntly, the emperor could die at any time, and then Crown Prince Xu Tianran would ascend to the throne.

Even though Xu Tianran hasn't officially been crowned yet, he's already behaving like a tyrant. Many ministers who disagree with his policies have all been wiped out by evil soul masters.

Such ruthless methods are absolutely insane.

Once he ascends to the throne, if Su Yu catches his attention, he will likely act without hesitation.

There will be no more hiding.

"Hasn't the teacher intervened?" Su Yu frowned.

Jing Hongchen sighed.

It's not that simple.

"Even Old Kong has his misgivings, but Xu Tianran now has the backing of two Limit Douluo."

Xu Tianran had somehow managed to hand over soul-guided technology to an evil soul master, which allowed the Death God Douluo to successfully advance to a ninth-level soul engineer and even create the so-called Death God's Light.

"Has the teacher fought that guy?"

Su Yu's heart tensed.

These things had never been mentioned by Kong De before.

"They fought once, and Old Kong was lucky to win, but there were two enemies on the other side."

In short, if the two Limit Douluo from the Spirit Hall teamed up, Kong De might not have the upper hand.

Especially since they were evil soul masters.

Kong De couldn't even be sure of their personalities.

If they were truly pushed into a confrontation, he feared these two might even take action against the Sun Moon Empire.

"Xu Tianran is such a fool for even involving evil soul masters."

Can you just casually interact with them?

It's like drugs. Once you get involved, you can never stop.

It's one thing to not collaborate with them, but once you've approached them, you can't back out.

If you sever ties unilaterally, the other side could recklessly damage your interests, forcing you to work with them again.

The only option is to completely eliminate any future threat.

"Eradicate the Spirit Hall once and for all!"

"After you've rested in Sun-Moon, you should leave as soon as possible."

Once Xu Tianran ascends to the throne, Su Yu should stay far from his sight.

"By the way, before you leave, take Yuhao with you. He shouldn't stay exposed to Xu Tianran's eyes any longer."

Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen, on the other hand, didn't need to worry.

Strictly speaking, they were different from Su Yu and Huo Yuhao. One was the direct bloodline of Jing Hongchen, the head of Sun-Moon Hall, and the other was a genius from the Star Luo Empire.

Such a background was enough to make a huge difference.

In the face of power, such things were the most lethal.

"I managed to get some information out of Xu Sanshi. You should head to the Douling Empire and visit the Xuanming Sect. See if you can obtain their secret method for awakening martial spirits.

If that doesn't work, take Yuhao to the endless volcanoes on the edge of the Star Luo Empire and give it a try.

Yuhao's ultimate ice technique didn't reach its limit in the extreme north; we can try reversing that."

It was clear that Jing Hongchen had thought of many ways to help Huo Yuhao's spiritual eyes undergo a second awakening.

Su Yu took note of everything.

"By the way, Lord, since I'm traveling outside, I can't neglect the production of soul-guided devices.

There's a chance I might try to break through to a ninth-level soul engineer along the way. Could Sun-Moon Hall allocate some rare metals for me?"

Jing Hongchen looked at Su Yu without exposing his intentions.

"Rest assured. I'll apply for a batch of rare metals for you."

This batch would be unprecedented in scale.

"Now, go ahead and work on your advanced battle armor. Here are my insights on crafting advanced battle armor. You can take a look first."

Su Yu took the booklet with Jing Hongchen's insights and the document approving the allocation of rare metals and nodded before leaving.

In the afternoon, Jing Hongchen hosted the visit from Old Song of Shrek.

Su Yu was unaware of the specifics of the negotiations, but the result was that Shrek paid thirty thousand-year-old soul bones to redeem Qian Duoduo and Fan Yu.

In addition, Jing Hongchen successfully obtained a substantial amount of information on soul beasts from Shrek Academy.

The future of the Douluo Continent would see the real development of soul-guided devices.

However, at the same time, soul masters' power would continue to become a crucial factor for high-level forces.

Without a strong foundation of soul masters, battle armor couldn't achieve its full enhancement.

Jing Hongchen collecting soul beast data was preparing for this.

---

Shrek Academy.

Boom!

A deafening explosion rang out in the soul-guided device department.

"Sigh, are we not allowed to properly cultivate anymore?"

If the technology isn't up to par, why force it?

The academy was filled with complaints.

"Sigh, the technology for installing soul-guided cannons involves too many factors. A single mistake results in total failure."

He Caitou sighed.

He looked at the failed soul-guided cannon model in front of him with regret.

They had been serious about it, but there were always a few mistakes in some of the team members' steps, causing confusion when the parts were connected.

He still needed to improve his soul engineer skills.

Without sufficient ability, relying on a team for production always led to such problems.

"Caicai!"

He Caitou heard a somewhat familiar voice and turned around. His previously gloomy mood lifted immediately.

"Teacher!" he exclaimed with joy.

His teacher was back!

He Caitou had made it this far thanks to Fan Yu, whom he truly regarded as a father.

During the time when Fan Yu was detained by Sun-Moon Hall, He Caitou had repeatedly resented the Hall's tyranny.

He had even asked the academy multiple times to redeem his teacher.

After more than a year, his teacher had finally returned.

(End of Chapter)